Huge guns haul bound for Ireland seized in Amsterdam

A massive weapons consignment destined for crime gangs in the North and the Republic has been intercepted by police in Amsterdam, it was revealed tonight.

Dutch authorities confirmed that up to half of the 165 firearms found in a car and offices at a factory in the Oud-West area of the city had been wrapped, ready for delivery.

Eight people were in custody in Dublin, Belfast and Amsterdam linked to the suspected trafficking ring.

Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde claimed lives had been saved.

“People will now be alive in the Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and Europe as a result of this and many serious crimes won’t be committed,” he said.

“This was certainly one of the most significant operations in recent history.”

Three Dutch men, including the factory owner, and a Brazilian woman were detained after police swooped on the premises on Tuesday following a tip-off from detectives in the North.

It is understood the businessman, who investigators suspect is the trafficking mastermind, has been under surveillance since mid-July.

Dutch authorities said the lethal arsenal included more than 70 Glock pistols and five Steyr submachine guns fitted with silencers – all made in Austria.

Almost 130 people have been gunned down in gangland style attacks in the Republic over the last 11 years. This year 10 men have been shot dead.

The remainder of the cache, which included hand grenades and laser pointers for guns, was concealed in hidden cupboards inside the factory along with 7,000 rounds of ammunition and 20,000 euro in cash.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy praised the successes in the international operation to date.

“All in all a great day for law enforcement but this is only one aspect of what we are doing,” the garda chief said.

“We have too many deaths on our streets, too many gangland crimes.

“It’s my job, and my officers are out there doing it day and night, working to seize more firearms and more drugs. They are the two biggest things that are challenging me and my force right now.”

Seventy weapons wrapped in plastic shopping bags destined for Ireland were found in a four-wheel-drive car in the factory car park.

“Most of the guns were brand new. We think they were straight from the factory in Austria where they were manufactured,” a spokesman for the Dutch National Prosecutor’s Office said.

“We don’t have information that all the weapons were destined for Ireland on one hand, but on the other hand we don’t know what the suspects planned to do with them.”

Intelligence from the Police Service of Northern Ireland led Dutch police to the metal factory, labelled a criminal supply centre.

In a statement the National Prosecutor’s Office said: “There were reasons to suspect that firearms and hard drugs were being supplied to the criminal organisation in Northern Ireland and that these were coming from the Netherlands.”

Tuesday night’s raid followed a long-running investigation in the Irish Republic, codenamed Operation Bench, which identified a suspected guns and drugs smuggling route from Holland supplying gangs in Dublin and Belfast.

Officers have targeted associates of jailed killer Brian Meehan, who is serving life for the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.

The Amsterdam raid was carried out on Tuesday night as gardai in the Irish Republic and PSNI detectives closed in on the suspected smuggling network.

So far, more than 200 firearms and heroin and cannabis worth an estimated €4m has been taken off the streets.

One man, who was detained in a swoop on a Belfast city centre hotel, is still being questioned.

A second man, 42-year-old Thomas Mulqueen, from Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, was remanded in custody by a Dublin court today on drugs charges following his arrest.

The three men, aged 41, 42 and 53, and the 27-year-old woman held in Holland are expected to be brought before a judge tomorrow and face a possible three months in jail before trial.

Two other men arrested in follow-up raids in Co Tipperary also remain in custody.

Dutch police carried out four raids on Tuesday night, including three houses - two in Amsterdam and one in the nearby city of Zaandam.

The guns were hidden in small safes in concrete posts in the factory and further concealed behind wooden panels. A money counter, computers, mobile phones and documents were seized.